Life as we know it has changed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Singaporeans who were too lazy before to even think about making bubble tea are now doing so due to the nationwide closure of bubble tea shops, with some even buying 20kg of pearls at once.

And while we used to shake hands all the time before the pandemic, try offering a handshake to someone now and they’ll look at you as if you just offered them a cup of coronavirus juice.

Now, entering supermarkets won’t be as easy as it used to be.

Visitors to 148 NTUC FairPrice Outlets Have to Scan NRIC or QR Code Before Entering for Contact Tracing

Singaporean residents visiting 148 FairPrice outlets nationwide will now have to provide their NRIC for scanning or furnish their particulars via a government-developed portal before entering.

According to Lianhe Zaobo, 2 FairPrice outlets in Bukit Batok and Choa Chu Kang have already started implementing this measure.

It was previously announced that temperature screening will be introduced at all supermarkets and malls, as part of tighter measures during the circuit breaker period.

But now, in addition to these temperature checks, shoppers desperate to get their hands on some toilet paper must first have their NRICs scanned or provide details on the SafeEntry portal via a QR code.

But why? Why does FairPrice want your NRIC?

One word: contact tracing.

Reader: That’s two words.

See, by providing your NRIC or particulars when you enter supermarkets, the authorities will be able to track what time you were at the supermarket, which is vital for contact tracing in case one shopper or employee contracts Covid-19.

As FairPrice told MS News, these measures will help to protect the well-being of both their employees and consumers.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, the 148 outlets that have implemented such control measures include:

• FairPrice Xtra
• FairPrice Finest
• Fairprice Supermarkets
• Fairprice Shop

Smaller Crowds At Markets

While FairPrice isn’t barring anyone from entering as long as they furnish their particulars, shoppers at four popular wet markets will only be able to enter on alternate days depending on the last digit of their identity card or foreign identification card number.

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The four wet markets are Geylang Serai Market, Chong Pang Market at Block 104/105 Yishun Ring Road, and the markets at Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane and Block 505 Jurong West Street 52.

These measures were announced last week, along with the closure of some essential services like bubble tea shops.

Reader: Please don’t remind me of my trauma

Those with an even last digit on their cards can only enter these markets on the even dates of the month, while those with an odd last digit can enter only on odd dates of the month.

This has led to shorter queues and smaller crowds at these markets, reported The Straits Times.

Most people were shopping on their own or in pairs.

Only Go Out For Essential Trips

1 June seems like a long way away, but we’ve already completed over three weeks of the circuit breaker and that went by really quickly, right?

Reader: It felt like I was being tortured by Time himself

Uh, well, less bubble tea in our stomachs means a healthier body, right?

Reader: Bubble tea was the only thing that gave me happiness in life.

Uh…

Reader: And when I try to make it myself, it just makes me sadder because it’s so disgusting.

Cheer up, dear reader. This circuit breaker can’t go on forever, and the number of community cases is still dropping; only 6 out of yesterday’s 690 new cases were Singaporeans or Singapore PRs.

A majority of the other cases were migrant workers living in dormitories.

So, the circuit breaker may well end on 1 June, and our lives can go back to semi-normal. In the meantime, please only go out for essential trips, and avoid going out in groups.

Keep doing that and maybe someday in the future, our kids and grandkids will be able to enter supermarkets without having to feel like they’re queuing up in an army cookhouse.